20 years

Keeping Airdrie COMFORTABLE

STORY BY PATRICIA MERRICK | PHOTO BY SERGEI BELSKI

Airdrie Air Ltd. Heating and Air Conditioning is celebrating 20 years in business this year and continues to thrive, adapt and grow with the community.

The family-run business carries high standards and regularly provides training for its technicians to keep their skills top-notch, according to owner Jason Genovy. He established the business after working for one of the largest companies globally for heating and air conditioning but wasn’t happy with the company’s policy on customer service. He lived in Airdrie and loved the community, so he thought it was a good place to set up shop and run things how he wanted to.

“We’re never the cheapest company out there because we believe in constant training with our staff and providing the best quality products with the industry’s best warranties. We back this up with our 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, five-star service,” Genovy says.

The company does residential and commercial work in Airdrie, Crossfield and some of Rocky View County. The shop is located on East Lake Boulevard and has 11 staff members. Genovy says he has hired more people over the years to keep up with the growth in Airdrie.

Over the last 20 years, Airdrie Air has survived highs and lows for which no business owner can prepare, including hurdles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last two years, the pandemic has caused many Airdrie businesses to struggle, with some having to close their doors and others slammed with shipping delays and issues receiving products. Airdrie Air has been struggling with supply chain issues but has been able to find alternative solutions for customers, according to Genovy.

“We’ve had to lend out electric heaters multiple times to get customers going because we could not get the parts from the manufacturers,” he says. “We would just set up the heaters to get them heat so they wouldn’t freeze until we could get their parts in and get them fixed up. It didn’t matter what brand or make – all of them had problems getting in parts.”

With many people working from home during the heat of the pandemic, there was an increase in demand for air conditioners.

“People are used to having air conditioning in their cars and their offices where they normally work, and then they come home at the end of the day when it starts to cool off,” Genovy says. “But now, when people are working from their homes, they find out how hot it is to work … during the day so it’s definitely increased our air conditioning dramatically.

“Last year, we had the hottest summer of all time combined with the biggest air conditioning shortage of all time, so we were doomed from the beginning of last year to keep up.”

The company brought in as many air conditioners as it could, but it didn’t take long to sell out.

“We had hundreds of customers calling that we could never provide air conditioners for,” Genovy says. “So, when that season ended last year, I was already ordering for the next season ahead, which is a lot tougher on smaller companies because you have to pre-spend a lot more.”

When the provincial government started shutting businesses down and enforcing restrictions on Albertans when it came to leaving their homes, Airdrie Air was deemed an essential service. Genovy says his employees worked through the pandemic and put their own lives at risk to keep customers comfortable in their homes.

“We had to keep going through this all. So, from start to finish, we haven’t stopped,” he says. “The challenges were the unknown factors – we didn’t know if we were going to die from COVID in the beginning or what it was going to do. We went into peoples’ homes no matter what and helped them out through the time in need. I’m really proud of the team that we’ve got here that went above and beyond.”

Genovy also maintains community involvement in Airdrie, whether it’s helping out with Operation Christmas Child, collecting food for Airdrie Food Bank or donating an air conditioner to the Airdrie Boys and Girls Club.

“It’s important to help out the community – especially when people are in need,” he says. life

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“It’s important to help out the community – especially when people are in need”